Unit 6: The Constitution Lesson 4: How the Constitution is Organized

The Constitution’s main purpose was… To provide a framework for the U.S. gov’t However, as the highest authority of our country, it also has legal & political force

Legal & Political Force? Yup The power of all the branches of gov’t and all elected officials, including the President, comes from the Constitution

So how does the Constitution start? The first part is called the… Preamble It identifies ideas that the gov’t stands for and… states the purpose of the Constitution

The middle of the Preamble lists 6 goals for the U.S. gov’t 1. To form a more perfect union, MEANING: To let the states operate as a single country, for the benefit of all

Goals 2. To establish justice, MEANING: To make sure everyone is treated fairly & equally

Goals To keep peace among the people 3. To Insure domestic Tranquility, MEANING: To keep peace among the people

Goals 4. To provide for the common defense, MEANING: To have armed forces to protect the country from attack

Goals 5. To promote general Welfare, MEANING: To make sure, as much as possible, that people are free from poverty, hunger, & disease

Goals 6. To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves & our Posterity, MEANING: To guarantee that no one’s basic rights will be taken away, now or in the future

The Articles Following the Preamble, the Constitution is broken into 7 sections, called Articles The first 3 describe the powers & responsibilities of the 3 branches of gov’t

Article 1 Describes the function, organization of, & powers of… Congress

Article 2 Describes the function, organization of, & powers of the… Executive Branch

Article 3 Describes the function, organization of, & powers of the… Judicial Branch

Article 4 Explains the relationship between the states & the national gov’t

Article 5 Specifies how the Constitution can be changed

Article 6 States that the national gov’t is supreme over state gov’ts, and that no religious test can be required for holding public office

Article 7 9 states ratify it States that the Constitution will go into effect after 9 states ratify it

So, now that we have this Constitution… what type of gov’t does that give us?

We’re a democratic republic and a constitutional democracy In a democratic republic, citizens elect representatives to make the rules of gov’t for them

The fact that citizens elect these leaders by following written laws (the Constitution) means that we’re also a constitutional democracy